In semiconductor processing, many times a deionized water rinsing step is utilized to, for example, remove liquid etching agents, remove contaminants, and/or remove etch byproducts. However, as the aspect ratio (i.e., ratio of height to width) of various features on the semiconductor wafer (e.g., microelectronic features, and/or masking layers) continues to increase, surface tension of the deionized water may lead to feature collapse. For example, vertically oriented features may topple into each other, or horizontally oriented features may collapse onto the underlying structure. Regardless of the precise nature of the collapse, the collapse renders at least that portion of the microelectronic device, and in many case the entire device, unusable.
Thus, any advance in techniques for rinsing and drying of the features on a semiconductor wafer that reduce or eliminate feature collapse caused by surface tension of rinsing fluid would provide a competitive advantage.